A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021
IN BRIEF
Federal funding helps
low-income college students
Clatsop Community College received key funding
that will allow the school to continue to serve low-in-
come and fi rst-generation students for the next fi ve years.
The college announced Wednesday it had received
a Talent Search $372,238 grant from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education. Talent Search is one of the Fed-
eral TRIO Programs. The college has received federal
funds for the outreach program for the past 30 years.
The program at the college serves more than 600
local sixth-through-12th grade students annually.
The program builds relationships with students
and helps them succeed in school and start college
with fi nancial aid and scholarships, according to Jon
Graves, the director of Talent Search at the college.
Astoria Sunday Market
to accept food stamps
The Astoria Sunday Market will now accept food
stamps.
Shelby Meyers, the market’s manager, said in a
statement Tuesday that the change will allow more
food options for a greater portion of the community.
“Farmers market food is often perceived as being
too expensive for folks on a tight budget,” she said.
“The acceptance of food stamps makes the fresh pro-
duce and packaged food available to these community
members in a way that they weren’t before.”
People in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program can redeem benefi ts at the market info booth
on the corner of 12th and Duane streets for wooden
tokens to be used with local vendors.
The market hopes to qualify for similar programs
in the near future to benefi t a larger portion of the
community.
— The Astorian
CDC issues new eviction ban
through early October
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention on Tuesday issued a new moratorium on evic-
tions that would last until Oct. 3, as the Biden adminis-
tration sought to quell intensifying criticism that it was
allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during
a pandemic.
The new moratorium could help keep millions
in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has
spread and states have been slow to release federal
rental aid. It would temporarily halt evictions in coun-
ties with substantial and high levels of virus transmis-
sions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S.
population lives.
The announcement was something of a reversal
for the Biden administration after saying that a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling prevented a moratorium.
— Associated Press
GARDEN DUTY
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Several members of the Oregon Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Squadron from Camp Rilea volunteered to help spruce
up the gardens around the Flavel House Museum in Astoria on Monday afternoon.
Port Commission backs letter of
caution on sea otter reintroduction
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
The Port of Astoria C om-
mission voted unanimously
Tuesday to urge the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service to con-
sider the potential issues for
port infrastructure in rein-
troducing sea otters on the
Pacifi c c oast .
A letter was drafted by
the West Coast Seafood Pro-
cessors Association, a trade
group . Lori Steele, the asso-
ciation’s executive director,
appeared remotely at the Port
meeting to advocate for the
letter.
The Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice was instructed by Con-
gress to conduct a one-year
study that analyzes the cost
and feasibility of reestablish-
ing sea otters . The association
plans to send the letter to the
federal agency prior to a fi nal
report to Congress in January.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an
Oregon Democrat, added the
sea otter study to a federal
spending blueprint.
“We tried to focus the let-
ter on providing constructive
input and identifying the real
critical issues that the Fish
and Wildlife Service needs to
address in their study,” Steele
said over Zoom .
The association reached
out to the Port of Astoria
asking for support because
they considered the agency a
stakeholder .
“There are a lot of consid-
erations and issues for ports
and potential impact on port
infrastructure,” Steele said.
The letter has already
received signatures from sev-
eral ports along the coast,
including Coos Bay, New-
port and Ilwaco in Washing-
ton state.
Steele said it is possible
the Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice will seek greater protec-
tion for sea otters under fed-
eral law .
“If that happens we will
run into all kinds of trou-
ble with trying to get per-
mits and things like that for
infrastructure, maintenance
and repair,” Steele said.
“Those are largely, I think,
the concerns from the p ort
perspective.”
Port commissioners sup-
ported the letter .
“They realized the dan-
gers involved and looked
at it in-depth that the gen-
eral public does not see,”
Frank Spence, the commis-
sion president, said after the
meeting .
“It was justifi ed and very
clear, and that is why it was
unanimous,” he added.
Bike shops: ‘We just roll with the punches’
DEATHS
Aug. 2, 2021
In PLOTKIN,
Brief
Barry
Lewis, 77, of Astoria,
died in Astoria. Ocean
Deaths
View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 30, 2021
CHAN, Flora, 104, of
Astoria, died in Astoria.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
FORNEY, Norman R.
Jr., 68, of Warrenton, died
in Warrenton. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 29, 2021
McCRAY, Lois, 93, of
Astoria, died in Astoria.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 28, 2021
HOFFMAN,
Peter,
80, of Warrenton, died in
Warrenton. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge
of the arrangements.
July 27, 2021
SLETTE, Frank, 79,
of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Burglary
Washington,
was
On
the
• Caitlin
Claire Record
Kurek, arrested Saturday after-
31, of Newport, was
indicted Friday for bur-
glary in the second
degree, criminal mischief
in the second degree,
criminal mischief in the
third degree and crimi-
nal trespass in the second
degree.
Attempting
to elude police
• Beau Anthony Mar-
thaller, 30, of Longview,
noon on U.S. High-
way 26 for attempting
to elude a police offi cer
by vehicle and reckless
driving.
DUII
• Krysta Marie Criss,
36, of Seaside, was
arrested early Sunday
morning on U.S. High-
way 101 for driving
under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Continued from Page A1
and was steady all through
the winter, more than any
other winter.”
While the increase in
sales was slightly more grad-
ual, Prom Bike Shop in Sea-
side had a similar experience.
“Everybody
decided
they wanted a bike, or they
wanted to fi x their bike that
had been sitting in their
garage, barn or whatever
for the last fi ve to 10 years
because — I’m assuming,
anyway — it was the only
thing you could really do,”
said Debbie Clark, the shop’s
co-owner . “As a group, you
were socially distanced and it
was outdoors and fun. Every-
body could do it.”
While Clark understood
why demand was so high last
year, she did not expect it to
continue into 2021.
“Demand has stayed
pretty good. W e have been
fairly impressed with it,”
she said. “Honestly, we have
been somewhat surprised,
we thought it would drop
this year because everyone
bought bikes last year.”
As new and returning
customers come knocking
for new bikes and seeking
repairs on old ones, manu-
facturers are struggling to
ship deliveries on time, leav-
ing bike shops in a tough
spot.
Lee said the bikes arriving
this month from manufactur-
ers were ordered in May and
June of last year.
Ed Jones, the owner of
Bike Envy in Warrenton,
said he isn’t expecting some
orders to arrive until the end
of 2022.
Clark said there is lit-
tle rhyme or reason to when
orders are arriving at Prom
Bike Shop.
“We don’t have a clue,”
she said. “The two suppli-
ers that we use are giving us
on-the-water, maybe dates
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Bike shops are having diffi culty keeping up with demand.
‘I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS
GOING TO HAPPEN. IT IS VERY
FLUID. WE DON’T KNOW HOW
THE ECONOMY IS HOLDING.
I T JUST DEPENDS ON SO MANY
FACTORS, IT IS HARD TO PREDICT.’
Scott Lee | owner of Bikes and Beyond
and that is it.”
“We just roll with the
punches,” she added.
Parts are a challenge
Since the availability of
new bikes dwindled during
the pandemic , Lee said many
people came in hoping to
repair old bikes.
But a shortage of parts has
made repairs slow and often
impossible without the right
pieces.
“People are repairing their
old bikes if they can, but
parts are a problem, too,” Lee
said. “We are two weeks out
on repairs right now because
we are so swamped.”
I n addition to the dis-
rupted supply chain, Lee
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said, there is a skilled labor
shortage .
“Staffi ng is always an
issue, but I have a good crew
and we have stuck together
and made it through it,” he
said. “We have good people
who are just thankful to have
jobs.”
Clark’s husband, Les,
who has owned Prom Bike
Shop since 1975, said they
loaded up on parts in antici-
pation of the shortage.
“If you had a good inven-
tory, which we had, it was
not really a big deal for us,”
he said. “Over the winter, I
had accumulated a backlog
in my parts inventory, so I
have not had a lot of short-
age problems when it comes
to repair work.”
But Debbie Clark said for
certain bikes, they are unable
to take care of chains, derail-
leurs or cassettes.
Although having to turn
interested customers away is
diffi cult , Lee and the Clarks
said people have been con-
siderate of the challenges .
“People understand what
is going on and they’re fairly
patient,” Lee said. “Every-
body has been inconve-
nienced and hassled and so
we are just used to having to
wait for things and have the
anxiety that goes along with
that.”
While they have not had
any issues with upset custom-
ers, Clark said she recognizes
there is some frustration .
“I would say (there is) a
frustration level of not hav-
ing product, but even more
so, of not being able to give
you a two-month window of
when you might be able to
see that product,” she said.
“I would think that in this
day and age, you should be
able to have a better grasp on
when things are coming in.”
B ike shop owners are not
sure what to expect in the
next few months .
Lee, who moved his shop
from 11th Street and Marine
Drive to a smaller location on
9th and Astor streets in May,
has ordered the same amount
of bikes as he did last year
in anticipation of demand
remaining high.
“I don’t know what is
going to happen,” he said. “It
is very fl uid. We don’t know
how the economy is holding.
I t just depends on so many
factors, it is hard to predict.”